Dec 24, 2023; East Rutherford, New Jersey, USA; New York Jets running back Breece Hall (20) carries the ball during the first half against the Washington Commanders at MetLife Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Vincent Carchietta-USA TODAY Sports
The New York Jets have the right leg of kicker Greg Zuerlein to thank for a 54-yard game winning field goal with :03 seconds left on the clock to avoid an epic collapse in what turned out to be a 30-28 victory.
In a game that the Jets appeared to be running away with as they held leads of 20-0 and 27-7, the Jets vaunted defense fell apart in the fourth quarter. Veteran quarterback Jacoby Brissett came on in relief of a struggling Sam Howell and almost pulled off a Washington Christmas miracle.
Brissett would lead the Commanders on two late touchdown drives to put the Commanders up 28-27 before Zuerlein’s game winner.
The Jets capitalized on a plethora of early Washington miscues to go up big. First it was a tipped Howell pass that was picked off by Tony Adams to set up Jason Brownlee’s first career touchdown reception.
Then Jermaine Johnson came up with a blocked punt deep in Washington territory before the Redskins fumbled the ball away to the Jets on a punt return.
The Jets capitalized as Brownlee’s touchdown made it 10-0 before Breece Hall ripped off a 36-yard touchdown run which was just the start of his monster day. In all, Hall would tote the rock for 95 yards and 2 touchdowns on the ground with another 96 receiving yards through the air.
Wide receiver Garrett Wilson also had himself a day. The second-year pass catcher hauled in 9 balls for 76 yards. Impressive totals when you consider the fact that quarterback Trevor Siemian didn’t complete a single pass that traveled more than ten yards downfield on the day.
Even after owner Woody Johnson guaranteed Robert Saleh would be back next season, the head coach had to be sweating. His much talked about defense fell apart at the seams late in the game. The unite allowed Commanders running back Chris Rodriguez to power his way to 58 yards and a pair of touchdowns on just ten carries.
While one of the scores was set up by a phantom pass interference call on DJ Reed that put the Commanders at the goal line, the defensive effort came up well short of expectations. While Brissett is a solid veteran backup, he’s not a guy who should be able to scorch a defense with a secondary as good as the Jets. But he did just that, completing 10 of 13 passes for 100 yards and 1 TD pass.
The win of course removes any hopes the Jets may have had at a top five pick and plants them squarely in no mans land come draft time.